11 October 2017
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is pleased to announce that, today, the Government has introduced into parliament a Nuclear Safeguards Bill.
In March 2019 the UK will withdraw from Euratom and as a result of this decision the Bill will establish a domestic nuclear safeguards regime ensuring that the UK has the right regime in place for the Office of Nuclear Regulation (ONR) to regulate nuclear safeguards.
As set out by Business Secretary Greg Clark on 14 September 2017, the Government is committed to a domestic nuclear safeguards regime which will deliver to existing European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) standards, and which continues to exceed those required by the wider international community. The Bill, first announced in the Queen’s Speech, will bolster the roles and responsibilities of the UK’s existing nuclear regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), once the UK leaves Euratom.
The UK will continue to be a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and work is ongoing on new agreements with international parties and regulators to ensure it remains compliant with relevant international standards and the nuclear sector is supported.
Nuclear safeguards are processes which allow countries to show to the international community that civil nuclear material is only used for peaceful purposes. Currently much of this work is carried out by the IAEA and Euratom. The UK will withdraw from Euratom in 2019 at the same time as withdrawing from the EU and the Nuclear Safeguards Bill will ensure that the UK has the right regime in place for the ONR to regulate nuclear safeguards.
